Forwarders in No Position to Submit Proposed Used Electronics Data Element for Exports, Says NCBFAA
The Census Bureau should not create a new “used electronics indicator” data element in the Automated Export System, said the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America in comments on the agency’s recent proposed rule (here). Doing so would place on forwarders “the burden of explaining this new requirement to the exporting community as well as seeking out and collecting additional information related to the nature of the product being exported,” said the NCBFAA. Forwarders are “not well equipped” to ascertain “whether the goods being exported are new or used" or "indeed whether goods that have never been used” fall under that definition because they have been resold, it said. Census proposed adding the new data element, and make other changes to the Foreign Trade Regulations, in a notice issued March 9 (see 1603080033).
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On the other hand, the NCBFAA said it supports the second of two data elements proposed by Census, internal transaction number (ITN). An ITN data element “would be instrumental in demonstrating to enforcement authorities that a filer complied with the mandatory filing requirements for the original shipment,” particularly in situations where a subsequent filing could be mistaken for a late filing or where there were “some extenuating circumstances which could excuse untimely submission,” it said.
Census should also revise several definitions both in its proposed rule and elsewhere in its regulations, said the NCBFAA. The agency should clarify its definition of filer and leave in a definition for “NVOCC,” and add NVOCCs to its definition of carriers. Census should also change the term “authorized agent” in its regulations to “authorized filing agent” to clarify the responsibilities of the entity, and differentiate between authorized agents required by the Bureau of Industry and Security and authorized filing agents for Census purposes.